As the Houston Texans opened training camp on Friday, one thing that was obvious was the presence of new head coach Lovie Smith.

He walked in and out of drills. Stood behind the offense when they were taking on the defense in 11-on-11 drills to get a better look at the players he will be directing during the regular season. Smith also wears another hat for the Houston Texans as defensive coordinator.

“I’ll tell you this the Texans won today,” said coach Smith in his press conference after practice. “A lot of guys have been showing up, showing out and making plays. You try not to put too much into it, though. Until we get on the pads, Monday, that’s when things really start. Separation really begins then, but we like where we are right now with what we’ve asked them to do.”

Friday was also the beginning of offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s implementation of the new offensive system for 2022.

With former quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor (N.Y. Giants) and Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns) no longer a part of the team. Second-year quarterback Davis Mills will be given the opportunity to help the Texans improve on horrible back-to-back four-win seasons.

“You look at everything I’ve said about our quarterback position since I’ve moved into this role, I am excited about what Davis Mills is going to do for us,” coach Smith said. “He has taken that role – I’m the leader of the football team, follow me. All the things Pep Hamilton and the rest of our offensive staff would like to do, we feel like he can lead us down that path. Offense matters by scoring points.”

Houston relieved former head coach David Culley of his head coaching duties after one season and did an extensive coaching search that brought about a lot of scrutiny before handing over the job to coach Smith. His expectation this season is not a Super Bowl appearance like when he was with the Chicago Bears, but he knows his team can play better than they did last season.

“We want to play our best ball,” coach Smith expressed when asked about season expectations. “We want to see what this roster looks like. We, as coaches, have to do the best job we have ever done coaching. Our talent – whatever our talent says we should be, that’s where we want to be.

“That’s just coming to work each day. It’s coach talk, but just come to work every day, getting better. We’re farther along. We have a lot of things that we want to do on offense, defense, and special teams. So, I can’t wait to go through training camp, start playing preseason games, get into the regular season and see where we are.”